Origin of strange cosmic flashes identified after 10 years of mystery

A meteor streaks across the sky during the Perseid meteor shower
in August 2016. This week, London-based scientists presented findings
of a study that sourced mysterious flashes of light in space, called
FRBs, that had baffled astronomers for a decade. NASA Photo by Bill
Ingalls/UPI

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LONDON, Jan. 4 (UPI) --
Scientists believe they have solved part of a cosmic mystery that's
baffled them for a decade without any real answers -- only speculation
-- until now.

Researchers in London have concluded that the
source of some strange and very quick flashes of light, first detected
in 2007 and were for years too elusive to accurately track, originate
from a place they didn't expect -- a small galaxy beyond the borders of
the Milky Way.

The results of the research are quite
surprising to scientists, because most believed such powerful flashes,
called Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs), must have been coming from a very
bright galaxy, an exploding supernova or a supermassive black hole.

Not so.

"We now know that this particular burst comes
from a dwarf galaxy more than three billion light-years from Earth,"
study author Shami Chatterjee told the BBC. "That simple fact is a huge advance in our understanding of these events."

A composite image of the field around FRB 121102 and its dwarf host
galaxy, by the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS) on the Gemini
North telescope on Maunakea in Hawai'i. Scientists say the mysterious
cosmic flash was detected in 2012 and ultimately traced to the dwarf
galaxy. Image courtesy Gemini Observatory/AURA/NSF/NRC

For years, sky-watchers couldn't pinpoint the
source of the bursts -- even with the help of long-range telescopes --
because they were too quick to map. Scientists would need to focus on an
exact location in space at the very moment a flash occurred to get an
idea.

In 2012, researchers recorded the 18th FRB at
an observatory in New Mexico. Unlike the others, though, this flash
repeated -- allowing the scientists to know where to look for the
veritable needle in the haystack.

The recurrence of that particular burst,
labeled FRB 121102, nine times over six months last year led scientists
to the dwarf galaxy.

Much is still unknown about the FRBs, but
astronomers are now at least confident they have an idea where they come
from. The reports say tracing other FRBs will be difficult, and some
scientists say a full understanding may never be known.

The research team has presented the findings
at the 229th American Astronomical Society meeting in Texas, which
concludes Saturday.

Origin of strange cosmic flashes identified after 10 years of mystery
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